The Phillies Zone

You don’t have to be a Phillies fan. You can be a reporter who roots for no team but appreciates baseball, and think while watching Jayson Werth dashing home after noticing Russell Martin’s negligence, that’s the coolest thing I’ve seen this year.

First time I ever saw anyone steal home in person. And first time a Phillie has done it since speedster Carlos Ruiz pulled a Jackie Robinson in 2007. It was an astute play from an smart player. Here’s a piece of how he broke it down, from Werth: “On the first pitch, (Martin) didn’t look at me. So I figured if we get to two strikes and he didn’t look at me, I was going to go.”

Please don't report me to the objectivity police. It was fun to watch. I'd root for a perfect game, too, because I've never seen one of those.

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A lot of chatter about Rollins, naturally, and here’s what he had to say about the switch before the game. He was clearly unhappy, but took it reasonably in stride (that is to say, at least he spoke about it, though he did get snippy when asked if he would have made the same move).

Here’s some of what he said. "I don't see where else I would hit in the lineup. Today I'm batting fifth. I'm a leadoff hitter. That's what I do. It doesn't matter what the numbers say. I'm going to produce. Pretty much, especially in this lineup with all the power guys, it wouldn't really make sense to keep me in a position down in the lineup where my game is speed when I'm on."

Our columnist Jim Salisbury will have an examination of the move in tomorrow’s paper, which looked like a smart one when Rollins tied the game with a ribbie single in the fifth. Charlie Manuel said he may keep this lineup intact for another game, since they won and all. What do y'all think he should do?